ILLINOIS
Chicago Tribune
Ukrainian Orthodox authorities have barred the pastor of a Humboldt Park church from serving as a priest following allegations that he improperly took more than $500,000 from a 93-year-old parishioner diagnosed with dementia.
Nicholas Chervyatiuk has not been charged with a crime, and he has vigorously denied the allegations, made in papers filed in probate court this spring by the Cook County public guardian.
Church leaders began gathering legal documents and acted against Chervyatiuk following an Aug. 19 Tribune report on the case. He had served as a priest at Holy Patronage Church, 900 N. Washtenaw Ave.
Chervyatiuk, 55, allegedly used the money he took to support two restaurants he ran with a convicted drug dealer, his Brash & Sassy, Inc. hair salon and his portfolio of Chicago-area rental properties, according to probate court papers and separate land, business and court records.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.